Bayard’s winter adventure
Bayard and Mel returned from a winter vacation to India recently. I would like to hand over to Bayard for a while so you can share some of their trip experiences.
” Mel and I and a group of friends had perhaps our best ride ever in India this winter and were reluctant to return to the cold of Wyoming in February after the opulence of the Raj. The spirited Marwari Horses seemed to float almost effortlessly in long gallops across the sandy terrain which is so well suited for fast riding.  It was easy to cover twenty to thirty-five miles a day between sumptuous palaces or luxurious camps.  It was about my tenth ride in India and each one gets better. The endurance horses we rode were in splendid condition and didn’t seem to be breathing hard after ten minutes of fast cantering.
Everyone on the ride with us this time had ridden with us before at our Bitterroot Ranch so it was a meeting of old friends and all were experienced riders. Judy had a spirited horse with its own personality who did some prancing around on the first day. She wasn’t used to that as it contrasted with the more placid Quarter Horse types she was accustomed to, but she soon got the hang of it and handled her mount beautifully. It was a pleasure to see how well she ended up getting on with that horse.
This is Mel in front of our tent on her indefatigable Marwari mare, Sonia, who made the 200 mile trip without putting a foot wrong once and could do a fast canter for ten minutes without breathing hard. ”
Bayard